How committed are you to supporting wellbeing at work?

Wellbeing in the workplace is never far from the headlines and remains a key consideration for employers and HR leads. While more companies are developing wellbeing strategies to support their teams, how invested are leaders in embodying the cultures that align with this -  and being truly discerning about the congruence between words and actions?

In a McKinsey Health Institute survey* of more than 30,000 employees worldwide, only 57 percent of people reported good holistic health (an integrated view of an individual’s mental, physical, spiritual, and social functioning).

With an ageing population and a rising retirement age, never has there been greater scrutiny on the quality of our experiences at work and the implications on our health and wellbeing. 

According to the same McKinsey Health Institute survey, it is calculated that more than 3.5 billion working adults each spend around 90,000 hours (or around 45 years) of their lives at work. So if that experience is compounded by stress and poor health, the impact is pretty seismic (both individually and collectively).

There are reams of data to demonstrate the implications of absenteeism and the economic cost of sickness, yet rarely do we focus on the potential that exists in presenteeism. And in that whole discussion, we often overlook the importance of attentional energy, of our capacity to flourish and bring our ‘whole selves’ to work - through presence as much as presenteeism. You see, in a digital age of hybrid working, AI and evolving work dynamics, wellbeing has never been more of an imperative.

So, beyond the legislative compliance of policies - how is your culture and your organisation’s ‘way of being’ supporting your people to truly thrive? 

Research by AXA reported in Personnel Today suggests that only 18% of UK workers describe themselves as ‘flourishing’. If that’s the case, why is there a gap between employers’ intentions (what they believe they stand for), versus the lived experience of being an employee? 

Is there courage, openness and space for reflection and how might you look more closely at the employee experience and create honest conversations in a trusted space to allow for exploration?

* Thriving Workplaces - How employers can improve productivity and change lives (McKinsey Health Institute Survey 2025)

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As an integrative wellbeing coach with a career to date that includes purposeful leadership roles & growing a mental health charity to national partnership level to underpin systemic change in the health landscape, I am passionate about culture and wellbeing.

In addition to working in a 1-1 capacity with private clients, my ‘Wellbeing at Work’ approach includes a blend of consultancy, interactive group conversations/reflective workshops and 1-1 coaching support.

Please do get in touch to continue the conversation about how you might deepen your commitment to Wellbeing at Work.